Water Potential and Osmosis

Vocabulary flashcards related to water potential, osmosis, and related concepts in plant and animal cells.

Solvation

The interaction of a solvent (often water) with the dissolved solute.

Solute

A substance that dissolves in a solvent.

Solvent

A substance that dissolves a solute.

Solution

A mixture of solute and solvent.

Hypertonic

Describes a solution with a higher solute concentration compared to another solution.

Hypotonic

Describes a solution with a lower solute concentration compared to another solution.

Isotonic

Describes solutions with equal solute concentrations.

Osmosis

The net movement of water from an area with a lower solute concentration to an area with a higher solute concentration across a semi-permeable membrane.

Turgor Pressure

The pressure exerted on the cell wall by the cell contents in a hypotonic environment.

Plasmolysis

The shrinking of a cell's cytoplasm away from its cell wall due to water loss in a hypertonic environment.

Crenation

Shrinkage of cells in a hypertonic medium.